MAYBE you make your own luck in boxing but there are very few in the fight game who wouldn’t wish Conrad Cummings the very best of luck as he begins his journey as a professional boxing coach.
The Coalisland native – a former middleweight contender – received his licence last week and now hopes to use the lessons he learned in his career to help other fighters scale the heights.
“I’m really excited,” said Cummings, already a popular boxing coach in schools and with private clients.
“Life has been good since I retired – less stress! This is the next best thing to boxing and I’m firing on all cylinders physically and emotionally.”
He is a regular in Ian Mahood’s gym in Carrickfergus and has been part of IBO super-featherweight Anto Cacace’s coaching team.
“I know the game,” said Cummings.
“I’m still relatively new to coaching but I’m looking forward to see where I go from here. I’ve got my licence but I’m not rushing in to take on somebody just for the sake of it.
“I have time on my side and when it comes it comes. I’ve already had a few messages but it (coaching a fighter) has to make sense for me.”
There’s no disputing the experience that Cummings built up throughout an amateur career that started at Clonoe ABC and ended at Holy Trinity. It included Irish and European titles and, after a successful spell in the World Series of Boxing, the hard-hitting middleweight was signed by Barry McGuigan’s Cyclone Promotions.
He won the WBO European title but circumstances outside of the ring impacted considerably on a loss of form and confidence for the Tyrone fighter who retired in 2019. He’s on the way back now and intends to use what he learned the hard way to the advantage of the fighters he works with.
“I believe there was a world title in me once but I missed the boat,” he said.
“I wasn’t too far off a crack at the world title at one stage but a couple of things went wrong and I know where I went wrong. I turned pro when I was 22 and I know what I would change if I had my time over again. I know what I did wrong and what I did well and I’ll bring that into my coaching.”
Cummings went 11 fights unbeaten (10-1) at the start of his career and he recovered from an unexpected loss to Ronnie Mittag to win three in-a-row before contractual issues with the Cyclone camp and back-to-back losses to Dubliner Luke Keeler dealt crippling blows to a promising career that never reached the heights it might have.
“I was a bit naive when I turned pro,” he said.
“Looking back now with a clear head I think, in the middle of it all, I lost what I did well, what worked for me. I got caught between everything – my style, my personality… All those things. I just lost my way, I got lost in all the chaos.
“When I first went to London there was a lot of pressure and then we (himself and the McGuigans) fell out when I was probably on the cusp of fighting for a world title. Then I didn’t fight for 14 months… As I say, everything got lost in the chaos and that’s the way it worked out.
“But I had a good run, I lived my dream and it’s onwards and upwards now. I’m looking forward to developing fighters into champions. I believe there’s a world champion in me so let’s get the ball rolling.”
IBO super-featherweight champion Anthony Cacace is expected to defend his belt in April and Belfast’s ‘Apache’ on the undercard of Joe Joyce v Zhang on April 15 or possibly Fury v Usyk which looks increasingly likely to happen on April 29 at Wembley Stadium.
There had been speculation that Cacace would seek to unify his title with a challenge for the WBO belt but it is more likely that he will make a first defence of the belt he won brilliantly against Italy’s Michael Magnesi in September last year.
FEARGAL McCrory moved to 13-0 in Atlantic City on Saturday night. The USA-based Tyrone lightweight stopped one-time Shakur Stevenson dance-partner Aelio Mesquita at the Showboat Hotel to extend his unbeaten run.
“All the sacrifices paid off in abundance,” said ‘Fearless’.
“The support I have is something I’m so proud of and it’s an honour to represent the people who are on this journey with me. This is just the start of it. We haven’t even scratched the surface.”
HAMMER-handed Monaghan native Stevie McKenna bludgeoned African opponent Brendon Denes into submission over four one-sided rounds at Wembley Arena on Saturday night.
The Smithboro native has a no-nonsense, effective style and he went on the attack from the first bell and put Denes under constant pressure with a ferocious punch output until he quit at the end of the fourth round.
"You have to entertain in this game," said McKenna afterwards.
"I wanted to go in there and get the knockout, which I did. He was highly ranked and it was a good step-up fight for me at this stage of my career.
“Nobody wants to fight me. I have called out numerous fighters and they don't want to know but hopefully we can make those fight happen.”
Meanwhile, McKenna’s brother, middleweight Aaron, will return to action in Manchester on March 25 against Macauley McGowan (17-3-1). ‘The Silencer’ hasn’t fought since June last year and will step up against experienced McGowan who has won his last three.
FORMER Michael Conlan target Isaac Dogboe will fight Robeisy Ramirez for the now vacant WBO featherweight title on April 1. The belt has been vacated by Emanuel Navarrete who confirmed his decision to focus on campaigning at super-featherweight. Navarrete captured the WBO super-featherweight crown by defeating Liam Wilson via ninth-round TKO in Arizona last week.
Navarrete said: “After closely analysing the situation with my team, we have decided to keep the WBO junior lightweight title. I feel very happy with the three title defenses that I made at featherweight, but I am also convinced that my future is now at junior lightweight. We are going after the big fights at 130.
“I'm grateful for the support that I have always received from my promoter, Top Rank, and the WBO. I will now proudly carry and defend my junior lightweight belt.”
